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irony
noun iro·ny \ ˈī-rə-nē also ˈī(-ə)r-nē \ Popularity: Top 1% of lookups |Updated on: 15 May 2018 SEE WHAT'S TRENDING NOW Tip: Synonym Guide Examples: irony in a Sentence Editor's Note: What's irony? plural ironies 1 : a pretense of ignorance and of willingness to learn from another assumed in order to make the other's false conceptions conspicuous by adroit questioning — called also Socratic irony 2 a : the use of words to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning b : a usually humorous or sardonic literary style or form characterized by irony c : an ironic expression or utterance 3 a (1) : incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result (2) : an event or result marked by such incongruity b : incongruity between a situation developed in a drama and the accompanying words or actions that is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play — called also dramatic irony, tragic irony See irony defined for English-language learners See irony defined for kids Examples of irony in a Sentence The great irony of human intelligence is that the only species on Earth capable of reason, complex-problem solving, long-term planning and consciousness understands so little about the organ that makes it all possible—the brain. —Amanda Bower, Time, 20 Aug. 2001 The great irony of anthracite is that, tough as it is to light, once you get it lit it's nearly impossible to put out. —Bill Bryson, A Walk in the Woods, 1999 And the irony is obvious: those who once had been the victims of separatism, who had sacrificed so dearly to overcome their being at the margins, would later create an ethos of their own separatism. —Shelby Steele, Harper's, July 1992 a writer known for her clever use of irony “What a beautiful view,” he said, his voice dripping with irony, as he looked out the window at the alley. She described her vacation with heavy irony as “an educational experience.” It was a tragic irony that he made himself sick by worrying so much about his health. That's just one of life's little ironies. The irony of the situation was apparent to everyone. He has a strong sense of irony. Recent Examples of irony from the Web No small irony that Mill is choosing to become the social justice leader that Kanye pretended to be. — Phillip Morris, cleveland.com, "Kanye West has a thing or two to learn about American slavery: Phillip Morris," 9 May 2018 Oh, and Mona, who seemed less cow than concept, really, half animal, half irony, sticking her rubbable muzzle through the fence like a Labrador. — Christian Wiman, The New Yorker, "Eating Grapes Downward," 7 May 2018 And this being a Lee film, the irony of Jake being black in these conditions is double-underlined and in bold print. — K. Austin Collins, HWD, "20 Years After Its Release, Spike Lee’s Basketball Epic He Got Game Remains Searing and Essential," 2 May 2018 These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'irony.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback. What's irony? Considerable thought is given to what events constitute “true” irony, and the dictionary is often called upon to supply an answer. Here are the facts about how the word irony is used. Irony has two formal uses that are not as common in general prose as its more casual uses. One refers to Socratic irony—a method of revealing an opponent’s ignorance by pretending to be ignorant yourself and asking probing questions. The other refers to dramatic irony or tragic irony—an incongruity between the situation in a drama and the words used by the characters that only the audience can see. Socratic irony is a tool used in debating; dramatic irony is what happens when the audience realizes that Romeo and Juliet’s plans will go awry. The third, and debated, use of irony regards what’s called situational irony. Situational irony involves a striking reversal of what is expected or intended: a person sidesteps a pothole to avoid injury and in doing so steps into another pothole and injures themselves. Critics claim the word irony and ironic as they are generally used (as in, “Isn’t it ironic that you called just as I was planning to call you?”) can only apply to situational irony, and uses like the one above are more properly called coincidence. The historical record shows that irony and ironic have been used imprecisely for almost 100 years at least, and often to refer to coincidence. This 1939 quote from F. Scott Fitzgerald is typical: "It is an ironic thought that the last picture job I took—against my better judgment—yielded me five thousand dollars five hundred and cost over four thousand in medical attention." Is this true situational irony? It’s debatable. The word irony has come to be applied to events that are merely curious or coincidental, and while some feel this is an incorrect use of the word, it is merely a new one. Origin and Etymology of irony Latin ironia, from Greek eirōnia, from eirōn dissembler NEW! Time Traveler First Known Use: 1502 in the meaning defined at sense 1 See Words from the same year Synonym Discussion of irony wit, humor, irony, sarcasm, satire, repartee mean a mode of expression intended to arouse amusement. wit suggests the power to evoke laughter by remarks showing verbal felicity or ingenuity and swift perception especially of the incongruous. ⟨a playful wit⟩ humor implies an ability to perceive the ludicrous, the comical, and the absurd in human life and to express these usually without bitterness. ⟨a sense of humor⟩ irony applies to a manner of expression in which the intended meaning is the opposite of what is seemingly expressed. ⟨the irony of the title⟩ sarcasm applies to expression frequently in the form of irony that is intended to cut or wound. ⟨given to heartless sarcasm⟩ satire applies to writing that exposes or ridicules conduct, doctrines, or institutions either by direct criticism or more often through irony, parody, or caricature. ⟨a satire on the Congress⟩ repartee implies the power of answering quickly, pointedly, or wittily. ⟨a dinner guest noted for repartee⟩ Other Literature Terms apophasis, bathos, bildungsroman, bowdlerize, caesura, coda, doggerel, euphemism, poesy, prosody IRONY Defined for English Language Learners irony noun : the use of words that mean the opposite of what you really think especially in order to be funny : a situation that is strange or funny because things happen in a way that seems to be the opposite of what you expected IRONY Defined for Kids irony noun iro·ny \ ˈī-rə-nē \ plural ironies 1 : the use of words that mean the opposite of what is really meant 2 : a result opposite to what was expected Learn More about irony Spanish Central: Translation of irony Nglish: Translation of irony for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of irony for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about irony Seen and Heard What made you want to look up irony? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible). SHOW 112 COMMENTS Love words? Need even more definitions? Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free! MERRIAM-WEBSTER UNABRIDGED WORD OF THE DAY sacrosanctplay immune from criticism or violation Get Word of the Day daily email! Your email address TRENDING NOW embolization 'the process by which a blood vessel or organ is obstructed by a material mass' oleaginous 'marked by an offensively ingratiating manner or quality' pansexual 'sexual desire or attraction...not limited to a particular gender identity or sexual orientation' symbiote 'an organism living in symbiosis' charlatan 'faker or fraud' SEE ALL BROWSE DICTIONARY ironworking ironwort irony iron yellow Iroquoian TEST YOUR VOCABULARY May 2018 Words of the Day Quiz spring-flowers Which is a synonym of raillery? aberration debating indiscretion jesting Spell It Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words? TAKE THE QUIZ Word Winder's CrossWinder Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way. TAKE THE QUIZ WORDS AT PLAY image250923223 Noun + Verb Insult Generator A collection of obscure put-downs alt-5b0834b915e3f 'Judicial' v. 'Judicious': We'll Settle The Case A judgment call alt-5b06e60511014 'Deprived' vs. 'Depraved' Nobody wants to be either. ASK THE EDITORS video-ghost-words Ghost Word The story of an imaginary word that managed to sneak past our editors and enter the dictionary. image1760257654 2017 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes How we chose 'feminism' video-literally Literally How to use a word that (literally) drives some people nuts. WORD GAMES spring-flowers May 2018 Words of the Day Quiz We’re already at the end of May?! TAKE THE QUIZ image1676440788 Words Used by Nabokov Quiz How familiar are you with Nabokov’s unfamiliar vocabulary? TAKE THE QUIZ Spell It Spell It Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words? TAKE THE QUIZ |
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Funniest thing of all is that in the almost 4 years I've been a member here, the only bitching I've ever gotten about this is from the paranoid nervous nanny crowd here on MB.
Frowny, you need a life mate. Yessiree. |
Can we...just...not?
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Anyhoo, this is what I sent my wife of 35 years.
https://cdn1.1800flowers.com/wcsstor...og/146760z.jpg :) |
Hope it actually turns up like that.
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I have a life unfortunately. Wouldn't mind trading up.
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First thing they ask for is the ship to zip. Bam, narrows the field from the 10s of thousands of florists affiliated with them. Then they ask for the street address. Bam again. The package will be delivered by the local florist. Not UPS or Fedex. And flowers.com gets a small cut of the profits for bringing the local guy the business. Been using them for ages and never had a problem. |
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